Argument that the Environmental Impact Directive adopts a preventative rather than a precautionary approach, despite the new legal basis for, and Recital 3 of the amending Directive. The distinction between precaution and prevention based on degrees of certainty about whether particular consequences will materialise from particular actions or processes. The preventative rather than the precautionary character of the Directive is, it is argued, supported by the requirement for assessment on the basis of the likelihood of significant effects; time constraints in supplementing the Annexes; implementation problems; and the operation of Annex II, including selectivity in updating it. Conclusion that the Directive is reactive and preventative, but not precautionary.
European Energy and Environmental Law Review